


A love that wasn't meant to happen

by Fastandfierce



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-06 03:20:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12202863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fastandfierce/pseuds/Fastandfierce
Summary: I love them, and obsessed with them. They have this insane chemistry imo and I hope they make it far in the competition.





	1. One

There was a knock on the door. It had been a long day of rehearsal, and her feet were killing her. She had been having the time of her life, even though she was lonely. It had been weeks since she had seen John, and it was beginning to take a toll. Hell, it was always something with him. Sure, she understood why, but it was rather annoying. She sighed in annoyance as the knocking persisted. She didn't really expect anyone. John defintely wasn't in town, so she was in no great hurry. But it was persistent. Maybe it was her sister Brie? But then again it wouldn't have been. Afterall, they were in Phoenix taking care of Birdie. Walking over to the door, she fluffed her hair some, just in case it was John, before opening up the door. Standing on the other side was Artem. A look of confusion fell over her face. 

"Hey um...." she wasn't really sure what to really say, but she opened the door wider to let him in. "Did I mess up? I'm so sorry!" Nikki said to him, lowering her head in defeat. She hated upsetting anyone, especially her coach. It was all new to her, but it was beginning to become an excuse. Not something she wanted to admit either.

"No no. I just.... I know I shouldn't be here... I..."

"Artem, what's wrong?" She asked, after the door had clicked shut behind her. Walking over to where he stood, she placed a hand on his shoulder. Their eyes immediately locking. The connection they shared, which she thought was from dancing, was there even now. Her belly did a little flop, something that she hadn't felt in awhile. But she chose to ignore it. She couldn't have feelings for another man. She was committed to John, but even that seemed to be wearing thin. 

"I will just come out and say it, Nicole. I..."

"Its not everyday someone uses my full name. Must be serious." She said in a playful tone. He chuckled at the response, nervously, but a genuine smile was on his face. His eyes seemed to always sparkle. Another thing that she really liked about him. "Oh is my little Russian nervous?" Nikki asked, as they stood there looking at one another. He stepped closer to her, moving a stray hair out of her face. Neither one saying a single word for several minutes.

"I... like you NIkki." he let out in one single breathe.

"Awww I like you too, Artem." she said right back to him, before gasping, realizing what he truly meant. He liked her more than just friends. The feelings were defintely mutual, but she wasn't sure how this would affect things.

"This will only be between us. I understand if..." he never finished his sentence, as she kissed him on the lips. He didn't respond right away, but she stepped closer to him, to the point where her breasts touched his chest. His arms wrapped around her frame, and kissed back. It was something that they both knew shouldn't be happening, but neither one could deny the obvious attraction.

"I... can't. I'm..." Nikki said after the kiss, even though she initiated it. She hadn't kissed another man since before John. And now.... now things were different.

"I know. I'm sorry I came over." Artem said, before leaving her house. She didn't look back, afraid she would run after him. Afraid of what she would see if she did.

Letting out a breathe, she didn't realize she was holding, she went to bed and cried. Feeling even more alone than usual.

 

AN: Let me know if you want more! :)


	2. Chapter 2

They hadn't spoke much about the kiss since it happened. The rehearsals were going well, and even though she struggled at times, she was loving everything about it. Even though her legs would swell, and her whole entire body ached, she was having the time of her life. Artem happened to be the best coach, always patient and understanding with her. Never once did they argue, or if they did they always managed to come to a solution in the end. Playing different characters was amazing, and she was beginning to realize what John meant when he had told her over and over it was just a big show. A production. Feelings were never apart of real life, it was just a character thing.

But she knew she wasn't imagining her feelings for Artem, ever since the kiss, she couldn't shake it off. The power, the intensity of it. Sighing inwardly, she knew it couldn't go any further with it. They needed to be strictly friends, even if it meant acting as if nothing had happened. Placing her hair into a high ponytail, she opened up the door to the dance rehearsal studio. She could hear laughter, followed by strict instruction, among other things as she went down the hall. All of the contestants were in different forms of their dances. And it was great to see everyone have a good time. They already had played some pranks on a few of them, which made her giggle at the thought of it. It was great being in an environment with such joy filled passionate people. It was so different than what she had been used to for years on end, and it took time to get used to, but it was great nonetheless.

"Your late." came the deep voice of Artem, as she opened the door to the studio. He seemed to be in a mood today, which wasn't usual for him, but she didn't want to argue with him either. Letting the door close behind her, she set her things down, before walking over to where he stood waiting for her.

"Mind telling me what is on your..."

"Nikki, now is not the time for small talk." he said in a stern voice, his accent coming out stronger than usual. She scratched her head, feeling like she had done something wrong, and they hadn't even begun rehearsal yet.

"I wont be late again, coach." she said in a sarcastic tone. "Who pissed in your wheaties?" Nikki asked as an afterthought. 

"No one." he told her, before turning the music on. 

They rehearsed for several others, to the song that had been given to them, before taking a brief water break. They didn't speak much, but she knew something was on his mind. Sighing outwardly, glad that the cameramen had already packed up for the day, and for the fact that she was no longer wearing a mic. It was annoying to say the very least. She walked over to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm to get his attention. He froze in place, but didn't turn immediately around.

"Talk to me." she said softly to him.

"I have nothing to say."

"Is this about the other day?" she asked him, almost in a whisper. Her front to his back, she could feel the steady beat of his heart against her chest. He took a sharp intake of air, as if needed the extra courage to speak to her. He had been in coach mode all day, but now. Now she wanted to know what the deal was with him.

"You're with John, Nikki. I don't want to break you two up." He said, their eyes locking in the mirror on the wall. She closed her eyes briefly, feeling unshed tears well up in her eyes.

"I know, but I'm not even sure...."

"Sure about what? You're always going on about him. Its as if he's..."

"He's what Artem?!" She asked if he just stung her with a bad word or two. He chuckled, but said nothing. He instead moved away from their close proximity and picked up his bag that contained his dancing gear. Or rather his spear clothes, and dancing shoes.

"He's a safety net for you." he simply told her.

"He's all I've ever known."

"Because of wrestling, Art."

"Exactly. Maybe you should explore your real feelings, and wonder if..."

"If what?" She asked, in wonderment. They hadn't really talked about his feelings or hers at all. It seemed to go round in circles, and maybe that's why she couldn't really let loose during the rehearsals, cause she was afraid to really commit. She sighed inwardly, wishing she didn't overthink everything. It was a curse.

"Don't overthink it all, Nikki. People can see that..."

"See what?" Her voice slightly raised, before pouting. He laughed slightly, as both their heads turned when the door opened. Jordan, Drew, Sasha, and Emma were all there peeking their heads in. A genuine smile fell on her face, glad to get away from this conversation, if only for a moment. "Hey guys!" Nikki said in a cheery voice. She noticed Artem had rolled his eyes, but said nothing more besides shake his head.

"Want to join us for dinner. Were going out just to hang out." Jordan asked, in a fake Irish accent, causing them all to laugh. She was about to ask where his pro dancer was, until they had stepped into the hall. It seemed like the whole cast, minus a few people, were all waiting in the hall.

"Sure. We will finish the convo later, okay Artem?" She asked, looking back at her pro dancer.

"We will see." he told her, before they left the room.

Turning the lights off, and locking up for the night. They all headed out to grab a bite to eat, all the while laughing about silly things.


	3. Chapter 3

Nikki was laying in bed, after a long grueling day of rehearsals. She had been thinking about everything, and realized her own thoughts were her own worst enemy at times. She and John had gotten into another arguement over the phone, her stomach dropping at what had transpired. Basically he wasn't going to come to see her live, until he was ready, and he had WWE to do. A PPV was coming up, and even though they both knew, from the script that had been given to him, he would lose, and the talk of retirement would be placed over his head. After all, he had been wrestling all of his life, and was now doing movies. Movies that seem to be taking more time away from them, than anything else. Her feelings were still there for him, sure, but now. Now she was confused, lost, and lonely. When she was around Artem, she felt this overwhelming sense of protection, and trust. They had to have trust with this show, or else it would all fall apart. Making it through the first show, nerve wrecking as it was, she still made it through. The judges ticked her off a little, but they had been right. She needed to work on letting him lead more. Something she wasn't used too.

Rubbing her sore legs, she got her phone off of her nightstand, looking at the screensaver on it. She wasn't feeling the loving vibes from the picture anymore. Of course it had been of her and John, but they had argued more. About things that shouldn't have been really argued about in the first place, but she knew that something had to give. Either they took a break, or continued down this path. Closing her eyes, as a stray tear ran down her face, she unlocked her phone, and looked for Artem's number. Texting him without a second thought, she told him to come over. Why? She wasn't really sure but she needed to see him. Sighing, she didn't wait for a response back, before getting up off of her bed, and walked into the next room towards the kitchen. Once there she poured herself a glass of wine, and downed it. 

A knock sounded on the door, minutes later. It had been over an hour since she had texted Artem, but was still surprised that he had even showed up. Her phone was still in the bedroom, so she didn't think he'd really stop by. They hugged briefly, as he stepped into her apartment. It was nice to have it finally clean, after all the baby things that were all over the place. Brie had left the day before, and even though she was glad to have her sister and Birdie as company, she was just glad to finally have some much needed quiet.

"What's wrong, Nikki?" he asked, straight to the point, when she hadn't said anything. Her back was against the closed door, hugging the half empty glass of wine in her chest. Another lone tear escaped from her closed eyes, but she didn't wipe it away, even if she did hate looking weak in front of anyone. "Nicole?" Artem asked out of concern, as she could feel his presence envelope her senses.

"I don't think I can do it anymore." she whispered, not once looking up at him, but towards the floor. 

"Do what?" he questioned. She laughed slightly, as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Me and John. I just..."

"He's no good for you, Nikki. I wish..." he stopped in his tracks, not sure of what to really say, but took the half empty glass of wine from her hands, placed it on the counter top, before wrapping her up into a hug. "I hate seeing you like this." Artem told her, kissing her on the forehead, but never once did he let go of her.

"I know. I thought maybe I was happy, you know. He's all..."

"You've ever known." he finished for her, wiping away the stray tears from her eyes, once she had looked at him. Their eyes locking. "What do you want to do?" Artem asked, taking her hand and leading her towards the couch. Once they had sat down, she snuggled up into his side.

"I want to be with you, but..."

"Your scared of what he might do?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but no matter what I do, someone gets hurt."

"Like you." he simply stated. She knew what he meant, but didn't respond back.

Singing interrupted their tranquillity, both of them looking around for the source, before she realized it was her phone in the other room. Kissing Artem's cheek, she got up from her spot on the couch, and went to the bedroom. John was calling her via Facetime. She swallowed her pride and nerves, as best she could, before accepting the call as she walked back into the room. She noticed Artem was still where he was, but said nothing.

"Hey love." she said, putting on her best smile, even though she wasn't sure if it looked convincing or not.

"Look I only called to tell you something, okay?" the booming strong voice of Cena came over the phone. She noticed Artem had stood up, at attention, but moved no further towards her. 

"Yeah, what's that?" she asked, using her softly sweet voice that she only used for him. A chuckle sounded over the phone, but the smile, she noticed didn't reach his eyes at all. It worried her just the same. "John?" she questioned, her stomach falling once more into the pit of her stomach.

"Your alone right?" he asked, she nodded, not sure if words could form at this point. He cleared his throat, looked at something she couldn't see in the phone, but knew he was on a movie set nevertheless, before looking back at her. The serious look never leaving his face. "I've been doing a lot of thinking."

"Okay." she said, almost in a whisper. She saw Artem walking over to her, but not to close. He stopped at the counter top, as she walked over to where he stood. She drank some of the wine in her cup, to calm her nerves. Or at least try to anyways.

"I think we should break up." he simply blurted out, without hesitation. She dropped her almost empty glass of wine, thankfully it didn't go very far, and it didn't break. But her heart and stomach had fallen out of her body it felt like, and tears were flowing freely down her face.

"Whattt whyy??!" she asked, trying to wrap her head around it all. Artem squeezed her hand, that was on the table, but he made sure to stay out of the viewpoint of the screen.

"You know why, Nicole."

"No, no I don't." her voice barely above a whisper, as she wiped her tears from her face. Her engagement ring shinning brightly in her face, almost menacingly.

"We haven't been on the same page for awhile. When I do see you next, I'll take the ring back, but not till after the show."

"What show?" she wondered, her brain not properly functioning at the moment. 

"Dancing with the Stars. I'll be there the following Monday. We will act like everything is okay. Got it?" he asked her, as someone in the background on his side, said something in the background. She sighed, but nodded. "I got to go back on set, Nikki. We will talk later." John said, as if it was no big deal.

"Yeah whatever. Bye John." she said hanging up before he said anything else. She threw her phone towards the wall, luckily it landed on a chair that was padded. Pacing to and from, she couldn't believe that had just happened. But even she knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Her whole family had never been to fond of him anyways, but the whole thing still crushed her anyways. Sighing inwardly, she stopped mid pace, and walked over to Artem. "Is this a I told you so moment?" Nikki asked, her voice sounding angry, even though she didn't mean for it to sound like it at all. He shook his head, as he wrapped her up into a hug.

"No, not at all." he whispered to her, kissing her on the head, but not moving away from their position at all. 

"Stay with me tonight." she whispered against his shoulder. 

"I don't think sex will be..."

"No, not sex. Just cuddle. That's all." she told him, looking him right in the eyes. She pecked him on the lips, but nothing more. He nodded.

"Okay, but we have to be up early for practice tomorrow."

"Okay coach." she said to him, before walking over to the chair, where her phone had landed, and turned it off. 

They walked into the bedroom, laying side by side. Artem with only his pants on, and she in her nighty, before they cuddled up for the night. He cuddled up into her, and watched as she drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning, Nikki woke up feeling like a ton of bricks. She had drunk a lot of wine the day before, but it didn't usually bother her. The events of the following day came back to her like a waterfall. John ending things with her, Artem being there for her, and then them sleeping together. She enjoyed the warmth of his body from the night before, but the spot next to her felt cold, as she moved around to stretch. She sighed inwardly, hoping she hadn't made the wrong move last night, but her sister wasn't there, and the mere thought of telling her was gut wrenching all in itself. She didn't even know if she could tell her friends, the ones that had warned her about John, and stuck by her side through all the thick and thin. It had been a long time, but they knew not to say anything about the relationship. She didn't want to hear anything negative. Not about her... well not hers anymore. But maybe there was just a mix up? She thought to herself, knowing full well there hadn't been any there. Sighing inwardly, she got up, and noticed the note on the dresser. It had her name on it. 

Nikki,  
I didn't want to wake you up, you seemed so peaceful in your sleep. I enjoyed sleeping next to you last night, I'll see you at rehearsal.  
Artem xx

The note warmed her heart, as a yawn escaped her mouth. He didn't want to take advantage of her vulnerability and she knew, if it had been any other guy, they probably would've done so. After all, they were dance partners, and if this was going to work, they had to learn to trust one another. Smiling sadly, she got out of her bed, and went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, but to her surprise it had already been done and was just waiting for her to make herself a cup. She needed to make it up to Artem, but wasn't sure what that was at the moment. Taking her phone out of the robe pocket, she unlocked it and clicked on John's name, wondering if he would answer or if he had changed his mind. Closing her eyes briefly, as a stray tear fell from her eyes, she knew it was no use to even think about it right now. She needed to get ready for the day. 

Drinking some of the coffee, she had made for herself, before placing it on the counter top, she went to the shower and decided to take a really hot one, to help clear her mind. The millions of thoughts that were racing through it was beginning to become overwhelming. Once done, she dried off, put her hair up in a messy bun, and put on a tank top and a flowy skirt. The usual workout dance clothes she wore everyday to practice. It had become a habit really, plus it seemed to help with the spins and twirls that Artem had put her through each and every day. Once dressed, she drank the rest of her coffee, before placing the cup into the sink to wash out later. It was the only dish in the sink, so that was okay in her books, even though it bothered her at the same time. Shrugging the feeling of leaving something undone, she picked up her keys and headed out of her apartment. She would have to call Brie later, and tell her the news, she thought as she got to her car.

The drive to the dance studios was long, the traffic horrendous as always, but that was to be expected with Los Angeles traffic. She made it in time, to see Terrell arriving, as well as Sasha Jordan, Frankie and a few others. All of them seemed to have left at the same time. Laughing lightly at the thought, she walked over to the building, thanking everything that was good, that the doors were already unlocked, as she opened the door, but waiting for everyone else to come at the same time.

"Guess we all thought alike today, huh?" came Terrell's smooth and slick voice. She laughed, as well as the others.

"Yeah, T I believe we did." came Jordan's voice from behind them. 

"I wish they would fix the traffic issues though." the voice of Victoria said, but almost in a sarcastic way, causing them all to laugh.

"Hey Nikki."

"Yeah, Sash?" she asked, as they all went into the building, and she took her sunglasses off, and placed them on her head.

"You okay? I mean, you aren't wearing any makeup and..."

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?" she asked her back, not wanting to talk about what was really going on. She didn't even want to think about it really.

"Yeah, hey you should come out with us one night. Okay?" Sasha asked, in a excited voice, which made her smile genuinely for the second time that morning. 

"As long as I'm not filmed,..."

"Filmed?! Girl you have your own show and...."

"I know, Vic, but I do like my privacy as well." she said, with a small shrug. She knew her life had been put on blast cause of the WWE and Total Divas and Bellas, but even so it hadn't been like she was constantly filmed either.

"We wont, promise. We just want to hang with you as well." Sasha said, giving her a hug. 

"Okay, promise."

"Bring Artem out to."

"Bring Artem where?" came the voice of her dance partner, causing everyone's heads to turn at his voice.

"They want us to come hang out with them one night." she told him, before anyone else could.

"Might be good for you, NIkki, especially after..." he paused, but said nothing more. She looked down, to where his eyes had traveled, and she noticed that she had put her engagement ring back on her finger. It had been a habit, one that she didn't really think about at times. She shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

"Especially after what, my man?" came Terrell's voice.

"Nothing important. We will be there." she said, before they all went to their respective dance rehearsal studios.

Nikki and Artem spent the next several hours doing nothing but the routine, not once talking about what had transpired the night before. She just didn't want to think or talk about it, and he had respected that.

AN: Sorry it was short. It'll be longer next time. Hope ya'll liked it :)


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